Jim Ned lined up to kick a game-tying PAT, after Jordan Gibbs' 4-yard touchdown run with 3:56 left in the game. However, Ty Hodges had to snag a high snap, and the senior made the most of a bad situation, running for two points to give the Indians a 22-21 victory over the Early Longhorns in a Class 2A Division I bi-district playoff game at Shotwell Stadium.

"It was just a little bit high, and that kid grabbed it and took off," Jim Ned coach Walter Hargrove said. "It was just a great play on his part."

The score capped a 15-0 second half for the Indians (7-4), who move on to play Clyde, 10-1, in the second round next week..

The two-point play was one of two lucky breaks for the Indians. Early had forced the Indians to punt the ball away. But Gibbs' low line-drive kick hit an Early player about 10 yards past the line of scrimmage, and the Indians recovered the ball four yards behind the line of scrimmage at the Jim Ned 34.

The Indians needed 10 plays to find the end zone and get what proved to be the game-winning scores.

"You've got to play well, and then things have got to go your way," Hargrove said. "There's a lot of luck involved in that. I'll admit that.

"But our kids played really, really hard in the second half, moved the ball and scored some, and then defensively we played great in the second half."

It was a tough ending for Early, which dominated the first half.

"Our kids have been used to going deep in the playoffs," Early coach Robbie Tindol said. "Our hats are off to Jim Ned. They executed the game well. When we needed to come back and put more points on the board and stop them. We didn't. Jim Ned is a good football team."

Early (5-6) scored early and often in the first half for a 21-7 lead at the break.

Collin Rome scored on a 1-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, and Nick Lyle threw touchdown passes of 47 and 35 yards to Sean Aly and Cody Bullard, respectively, for the Longhorns in the second quarter.

Jim Ned got its lone touchdown of the half on a 3-yard run by Joseph Mayfield, as the Indians pulled within seven, 14-7, with 4:55 left before the half.

But Bullard made a nice running catch in the end zone to put Early back on top 2:31 before halftime.

The Indians cut the lead to seven, when Luke Taylor caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Gibbs with 6:00 left in the third quarter.

Mitchell Hicks had a 22-yard catch on the drive, and Mayfield had a 50-yard run down to the 9. Mayfield ran for 134 yards on 31 carries for the night.

It remained a 21-14 game, until the unlikely events on the punt led to Gibbs' touchdown and the game-winning two-point conversion.

Lyle completed 27 of 52 passes for 291 yards, plus two interceptions, but 210 of those yard -- and two touchdowns -- came in the first half.